Q&A: An Introspective Look Into Margaux’s ‘Inside the Marble’
MARGAUX PERFECTLY ENCAPSULATES DREAMY POP — in her debut LP, Inside the Marble, but that’s not to say that she is limited to one sound. Instead, the 23-year-old NYC–based artist has curated a dazzling blend of melancholy themes, dreamy and ethereal vocals, and textured instrumentals that make her music all the more alluring.
Margaux, born Margaux Bouchegnies, is a Seattle-born singer-songwriter and bass guitarist whose 2019 debut EP, More Brilliant Is the Hand That Throws the Coin, captured everyone’s attention and established her as an indie pop and indie rock artist to be on the lookout for. The project is riveting, and received critical acclaim from renowned publications such as Pitchfork, who described her as self-assured and “a young person with precision and command.” There’s no doubt of the debut’s longevity and replay value, with its themes of love and growing pains still deeply resonating with Margaux’s audience.
Inside the Marble finds Margaux at a different stage of her life, years later, but having experienced heartbreak and added pressure about growing older and asking herself, “What now?” after graduating from university. This is not only a breakup album, but the theme of heartbreak is present throughout — not just as the loss of a romantic relationship, but of one caused by self-doubt, overwhelming choices, and expectations young people burden themselves with.
The 10-track album is produced, mixed, and mastered by Sahil Ansari, who worked on this project with Margaux for four years. Their symphonic union is one that is seamless, producing a sound that perfectly balances the weight of Margaux’s emotive lyrics with ambient and surreal sonics, without either of the elements lacking or being devoured by the other.
Ahead of the project’s release, Margaux has dropped four stunningly contemplative singles, “DNA,” “I Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way,” “What Could I Say?” and “Picture It.”
We spoke to Margaux about the dazzling storytelling, intricate arrangement, and artistic growth behind Inside the Marble. Read more of our conversation below
LUNA: During my research, I found a lot of interesting facts about you, but the one thing that stood out to me was that you switched from studying jazz to poetry and non-fiction, which puzzled me a bit. Why did you make this decision, and how has that impacted the type of music you make and the way you make it?
MARGAUX: School made music too formulaic and limiting. It no longer felt like I was making music from a place of passion, but rather for grades and overall academic purposes. Poetry helped me enhance my writing and find ways to express myself through metaphors and abstract ways to talk about things that are nebulous. There are themes of the afterlife and having a lot of anxiety around what might or might not happen; it can be difficult to speak about these things in a specific way.
LUNA: You have amazing songwriting and arrangement skills. Is this from your songwriting ability to visualize your songs and the order in which you want to tell your story?
MARGAUX: Arrangement is in everything, from the lyrics to production, and that informs the tracklist. It is natural to talk about my experiences in a way that has order, and I do try to be cohesive. The difference is that I do not want to limit this album to being solely about a breakup, and so I did not intend on structuring in a predictable way. When I write I want the messages to be a soundtrack to these experiences, the layering of everything is very instrumental to achieving that. Sahil and I did experiment with different sounds on this project, and thus we must make the tracks sound like they belong in a project together. We spent the majority of our time working in one studio, and that experience of being in one space and having to create a variety of experiences from that helped us create a united sound that built a world.
LUNA: Could you talk about the formation and success of your working relationship with Sahil Ansari? There’s a lot of trust within letting someone produce, mix, and master work that is so personal to you, and I would like to know how you manage to collaborate and work together so harmoniously.
MARGAUX: Sahil and I both have a genuine respect [for] and appreciation of each other’s creative contributions, and we both believe in world building with our music. The lyrics and subject matter belong in a context, and there is a synchronization required for that. Sahil is always open to experimenting with different sounds, but he also knows how to create a soundscape that complements the message I’m trying to convey. The various loops, strings, synthesizers, and electronic elements were experiments we both wanted to pursue because we push each other to try new things and [experiment with] ways of producing and curating music.
LUNA: You describe your album as “sorting through the big feelings,” and with your album having been in the works for five years, do you feel that your initial anxiety about being post-grad and your heartbreak have evolved or changed? Or is your music reflective of the place you were in five years ago?
MARGAUX: For some of the songs, I still do resonate with them, but with others I’ve processed and moved on from [the situations] and so it is kind of funny to have songs from four years come out now because it’s like, “Oh, I don’t feel that way anymore,” but … me putting these songs out it is a way for me to get closure and acknowledge that these experiences and feelings are part of the past.
LUNA: Inside the Marble is a reflective title that all of us can relate to — we're still looking for our place in the world in these turbulent times, and I believe your music really does offer an introspection into what that means. Why did you choose to release the singles “DNA,” “I Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way,” “What Could I Say?” and “Picture It” from the album?
MARGAUX: These singles represent the album and touch on all the themes that you will find on the [project]. I wanted to provide a range on what to expect. The first single had some rock elements, and the second one was softer. “Picture It” is somewhere in the middle of those two for me. A lot of the songs of the albums have big arrangements with a lot of layers, and “I Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way” is a lot more focused… Lyrically, it’s more direct. There aren’t many metaphors. I was in a place in my life where I wanted to say what I wanted without a lens. I wanted to keep it simple and talk about a common experience of grieving the end of a relationship. Wanting that person and missing not only the romantic relationship but also the friendship.
LUNA: How have you evolved sonically and as an artist since More Brilliant Is the Hand That Throws the Coin?
MARGAUX: There are stylistic choices that I do differently now. Sahil and I experimented more with drum loop sounds and electronic layers, which was fun. I know that I’m excited to play around with darker sounds for my next project, in terms of the sonics and not necessarily the subject matter. I want to do something unexpected and manipulate the sound of different instruments to create a different sound. The pandemic did set me back, but ultimately I think everything worked out the way it was supposed to. Outside of that I have been building relationships in the music community and playing the bass for other artists. There are exciting things on the horizon, and ultimately I think everything worked out the way it should have.
LUNA: What should your fans expect from this project, future visuals, and performances, and the future Margaux?
MARGAUX: I hope people enjoy this and find a sound that they connect with. Sahil and I spent a lot of time working on different sounds and experiment[ing], and I hope people can enjoy the novelty in the arrangements we made. I’m currently in the process of writing more music;whether it’s an album or something smaller, I believe I’m just excited to focus on this and keep writing.
